Mrs Jones You've Got a Lovely Daughter
by JennyLD
Summary: Martha Jones has moved on, pushing all thoughts of the Doctor to the farthest reaches of her mind. She feels content with her decision to stay with her family and give up traveling in that wonderous blue box...that is until she has an unexpected visitor.


**Disclaimer:** Doctor Who owns my soul, I own nothing.**  
Spoilers: **Through The Last of the Time Lords  
**Thanks To: **Blvdgirl for the beta

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He had said it was impossible, that there was absolutely no chance she'd ever see him again. Not without ripping apart the very fabric of space and time, destroying both universes in the process. And she believed him, they both believed him.

He was wrong…

OOO

It was a Tuesday, lunchtime at a crowded chip shop not far from the hospital. She would always remember that day. The noise, the smell, even the patterns scratched into the table by former patrons (bad combination that – impatient customers and sharp steak knives) was forever etched into her memories.

She'd finished up her rounds a short time ago and had stopped here for a bite before heading home to the insanity that was her family. The place had never caught her interest before, despite being smack dab in the middle of her typical route to and from work. She was always too distracted by whatever exam she was studying for at the time or in too much of a hurry to put her feet up with a nice cuppa.

Today had been different though, for reasons beyond her comprehension. It was as if something was calling to her, pulling her into the shop almost against her own will. If she didn't believe in it, she would've sworn fate had played some role in the decisions she'd made that day…

"Martha? Martha Jones?" The feminine voice interrupted her scrutiny of the menu held loosely in her hands.

She looked up expecting to find a waitress standing there, pen poised above notepad, waiting to take her order. The woman, petite with shoulder-length brown hair, was no waitress though and Martha wondered how it was she knew her name. "Do I know you?"

"Nah," the woman smiled and, though it definitely lit up her face, it fell short of her eyes. "But I know who you are Miss Jones."

"And how would that be?" Martha asked trying to keep her voice calm. She'd had a long night at work, a _very _long night indeed. She'd grown accustomed to the extra caseload whenever the moon was in full bloom but that didn't make the double shifts any easier.

"Let's just say we have a mutual friend." The brunette waved her hand, indicating the empty chair across the table, "May I?"

She seemed innocent enough but something about the whole situation was making Martha nervous. She scanned the shop quickly, looking for some sort of assistance, for some way out of this whole creepy conversation. There was nothing though. No copper sitting down with a cup of coffee and a donut, no face in the crowd that she recognized.

"Don't worry, I'm not a nutter. Really."

Something in the woman's voice convinced her to let her guard down. "Ok, yea." She nodded.

They sat there in silence, sizing each other up. Martha couldn't help but feel like she was being graded, points added and subtracted from her final score based on questions she never even knew would be on the exam. For her part, she was mesmerized but the slight but fit thing sitting in front of her. There was something familiar somehow…

"I suppose," the girl finally spoke up, "I suppose I should introduce myself. Don't know where my manners swanned off to." She reached out across the table and Martha accepted – though a bit reluctantly – the hand offered to her. "My name is Rose. Rose Tyler."

And suddenly it was clear. All those pictures he'd had lying about in the console room, the kitchen, the study, the library. After their trip to New New York they'd had a proper sit down together and he'd shown her a side of himself that up until that point she would have never guessed possible in the man…he'd been calm and quiet, letting her tell him all about herself and her family.

It had been a lovely dinner until she'd found the picture. It was of him, different colored suit but definitely him, sitting in someone's living room with a young blonde. They were both all smiles, glowing skin, and sparkling eyes and she almost couldn't believe it was actually the same Doctor that had moped and pouted his way through saving the world three times now. She probably should've known better, known not to ask but curiosity got the best of her.

She had caught him by surprise and she could've sworn, for the briefest of moments, that he was about to cry. And then, quick as lightening, he'd ripped the picture from her grasp and left the room. The next morning the Tardis had been cleared of any and all reminder's of Rose, almost as if he was disinfecting it. He had never said that that was indeed who the picture was of but his reaction was all the confirmation she needed.

"But…but you can't be!" Admittedly she looked a bit different now. Her hair was brown for one and she looked older. No, that wasn't really accurate. Physically she looked about the same age as she had in the photo…except her eyes. Her eyes looked ancient.

They looked just like his.

"And why can't I?

"Because you just can't." She briefly considered calling him on her new mobile – she'd left the other one with him in case she ever needed to contact him – but quickly scraped that idea. For all she knew this was some sort of shape-shifting alien, an old powerful enemy, and it was using her to get to him. "Because Rose Tyler is stuck in an alternate universe!"

"I was," she shrugged. "I came back."

"But you couldn't…she couldn't. He said it was impossible."

At that the girl laughed. "Yea well, Martha, if you haven't learned by now that that word means absolutely nothing coming from him then obviously all the stories I've heard about you aren't true." There was a twinkle in her eye then, a twinkle not unlike…

Oh my god! "But how?"

"It's a long story, longer then I have."

Martha knew she was staring but she couldn't help herself. It was her, it was definitely her, the woman whom all who came after were, and always would be, compared to. It was amazing, brilliant, stupendous! It was nothing short of a miracle.

"Oh my god, I have ta'…" she unstrapped her purse from the back of her chair and started digging through it. "I know it's in here somewhere. He'll be so excited to see you. I can't wait to see the expression…"

A hand covered hers, stopping her search. Surprised, she looked up into eyes filled so deeply with sadness she wondered if even his could compare. "No, Martha. He mustn't know. He mustn't ever know."

"But! I don't understand. I thought you…I thought you loved him."

"I do, which is why it's better this way." Rose returned her hand to her lap and stared out the shop window. "You see me and him, we're not meant to be together. The universe knows this, which is why it insisted on separating us in the first place." She turned back to face Martha, eyes filling with tears that she would not shed. "He's a Time Lord, the last of his kind, and he's important. He's important to Earth – past, present, and future – and to all the other planets and all the other races out there. Without him I think the whole universe might just fall apart."

She looked down then, staring at the hands clutched tightly in her lap. Martha knew she was trying to compose herself, trying to bring her emotions under control. "I never understood while I was traveling with 'im. I always thought that somehow, some way we could be together. Love conquers all, yeah? But I was wrong, Martha, I was so very, very wrong. Me and him, we can't be together like that…ever."

It was weird. Now that the girl was sitting right in front of her, the woman she'd despised for so very long, she couldn't remember why she'd hated her so. It was obvious the love Rose felt for the Doctor was just as strong as the love he felt for her. And Martha was not about to let her get away this easily. "Why not? And don't tell me it's impossible because I think we already covered that topic."

Rose sighed, "I'm not explaining myself very well am I?"

"Not if you love him half as much as he loves you," Martha replied tartly then instantly regretted it when Rose flinched as if she'd been hit.

She recovered quickly though and gave Martha an understanding smile. "No, it's alright. You're right." She paused as if she wasn't sure what to say next. "Its like…do you know anyone with kids?"

"My brother, yeah. He's got a little boy; two years old and already the terror of London," she smiled fondly, thinking of her nephew.

"And your brother, he'd do anything for him right?

Martha nodded.

"He'd go to the ends of the Earth – destroy anyone and everyone who tried to get in his way – all to protect him right?"

She swallowed hard, understanding dawning on her.

"Imagine if you will a Time Lord doing that. All that power channeled into a darkly spinning ball of rage, bent on destruction, not just the Earths' but the whole universes'. Sure he didn't rip apart the fabric of time and space to get me back this time…but, if given another chance to lose me, can we be certain he wouldn't do it then?"

She had a point Martha had to admit. But at the same time…"What else Rose? There's something else, something you're not telling me."

"You're very clever Martha Jones, no wonder he asked you to travel with him. He only takes the best you know." She glanced at her watch, "As much as I've enjoyed this conversation though I have to leave soon."

"Don't try and change the subject on me Ms. Tyler! If I'm clever enough to travel with him then I'm clever enough to recognize an avoidance tactic when I see one!"

"I'm sure you are," she replied pulling her jacket back on. "But I really do have to go and…well, the rest is complicated. Please just let it go."

"Alright then," she replied, deciding not to push the girl. "But tell me, why did you come here? Why did you seek me out if you aren't looking to be reunited with him?"

"To thank you, Martha."

She give Rose a puzzled look, "Thank me for what exactly?"

"For traveling with him, keeping him safe from himself and those that would wish him harm. For caring about him and, yes, even loving him. For putting up with his sulky, pouty ways for as long as you did…it takes a real special kind of a girl to deal with that."

Martha smiled at that statement. "And I wanted to ask you something, a favor."

"Sure, anything."

"When I leave here, call him. Tell him you want to travel with him again, you want to help him save the world."

Martha shook her head, "Anything but that."

Rose reached across the table then, grabbing Martha's and squeezing gently. "He needs you Martha Jones, more then you could ever imagine. And I think you need him too."

"But I couldn't…I couldn't stay with him anymore, couldn't stand being second best. It was like I was a ghost or a piece of fuzz on his jacket; ignored but for the briefest amount of attention needed to flick it off," she stared out the window at the crowd of people rushing about. "I can't go back to that."

"But you can and you must."

For a few minutes neither woman said anything, both were too lost in their own private thoughts. Martha understood Rose's desire to know he isn't alone but she just couldn't go back to that way of life. "I'm sure he's found someone else to hold his hand."

"But that someone isn't you and I already decided that if it can't be me running off having the adventure of a lifetime with him then I want it to be you who does so in my stead."

"I don't understand. Why me?"

"Because I've heard about you Martha heard about all your grand adventures with him. I know all about how you roamed the Earth by yourself for the year that never was. All alone and frightened for your friends and your family. You had no one; no one to hold your hand, no one to help chase away the nightmares, no one even to talk to. But you carried out his orders anyways. Because you trusted him."

Martha could feel the flush rising in her face. How had this woman known about all these things?

When Rose continued her voice was a whisper, "And that dear Martha is why it has to be you. Only your act of faith could even begin to compare to what I've done for him. And between you and me, in a contest I think yours would win easily."

Rose stood turning to go then paused and looked Martha in the eyes. "I know you think he doesn't love you but he does, just not in the way you want him to. Even if he did…it certainly wouldn't make things any easier for either of you. He's not like other blokes. There'll never be a ring on his finger, a mortgage to pay or children with his eyes running through the yard. It's better this way, Martha. Trust me." With that she walked away from the table and out the door, never looking back.

OOO

Martha remained seated, lost in thought. It had been a strange conversation indeed. But it had given her something – well a few things actually – to think about.

A few minutes later she picked up her phone and began to dial.

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"You alright?"

"I don't know." Rose gazed into the shop window, watching as Martha slowly dug in her pocket and pulled out her mobile. She smiled, a small sad smile, knowing with a certainty she shouldn't just whose number the younger woman was calling.

"We should get going," he said reaching out his hand to her. It reminded her so much of the Doctor sometimes that it hurt.

She nodded her head and tearing her eyes away from the scene unfolding on the other side of the glass. "Yea we should…wouldn't want to get caught."

She allowed him to guide her away down the road, towards the vehicle that had been waiting for them. Just before they pulled away he looked at her, eyes full of the pain she was feeling. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

If anyone could understand what she was going through – understand the hurt that came with doing the right thing – it was him. "Yea Jack, I'm sure."


End file.
